Ancient Javanese shadow drama set for English performance

Ancient Javanese shadow drama set for English performance

By Ton Bintoro

JAKARTA (JP): The scene is set. The tree of life spins around
and is planted upright in the middle of the screen. The music
begins with a trance-like beat. And so dawns a drama from an
ancient time, where the shadow world is not separate from the
material world.

Wayang kulit (leather puppet or shadow puppet) is an ancient
Javanese art form dating from before the 9th century B.C.; before
the influence of India reached the Indonesian archipelago. The
shadow play was probably used in rituals connected with
fertility, communing with the Gods or ancestors, and guiding the
soul to the afterlife. With the arrival of Hinduism from India,
the Ramayana and Mahabrata epics were incorporated into the
existing wayang forms.

According to David Irvine's Leather Gods & Wooden Heroes,
Java's Classical Wayang, the standard wayang stories are divided
into four themes tracing wayang kulit's development through
history. The Jawa Dewa cycle relates the exploits of the original
Javanese gods and legendary heroes. The Arjuna Sasrabahu cycle
introduces the characters that provide a background to the
Ramayana cycle. The Ramayana cycle is based on the great epic
Ramayana about the abduction of Sinta and the efforts of Rama to
rescue her. And the Mahabrata tells of the battle for the kingdom
of Hastina between the Pandawa brothers and the Korawa brothers.

These cycles reflect wayang kulit's ability to adapt and to
draw on new characteristics from a changing environment without
losing its philosophical essence. But what relevance could this
traditional art form steeped in traditional Javanese philosophy
and Javanese Hinduism possibly have for foreigners?

On Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. at Erasmus Huis, South
Jakarta, Swamintaya will attempt to answer this question by
performing the story of Bhisma Dewabrata in English. This story
relates the life of Bhisma, a central character from the
Mahabrata, faced with the dilemma of pursuing his own desires or
playing out the role that destiny handed him.

Swamintaya chose this story because, he said, "the Mahabrata
is the basic story of wayang in Java. This will give everybody an
understanding," and "to introduce some basic messages through the
performance, for instance peace and cooperation between different
cultures."

Swamintaya works at PT Merck in the marketing department, he
performs wayang kulit in his spare time.

Traditionally, the dalang (storyteller) functioned as a medium
between the shadow world and this world. In this performance,
Swamintaya is an intermediary between two worlds also, the East
and the West.

What relevance could this ancient story have for people in
modern society?

Swamintaya said that Bhisma Dewabrata is a crown prince who
had no ambition to become king, although by right he was entitled
to do so, but instead decided to become a monk.

"Bhisma has a spectacular character, for whereas in present
day, many people are attracted to the pleasures of the world,
Bhisma chose to take up a life in the monastery, abandoning the
pleasures of the world."

Swamintaya will have a challenge performing the wayang kulit
in English because it is usually performed in Javanese and Kawi
(a sacred Javanese language based on Sanskrit).

"In performing for a western audience, there is the difficulty
of expressing Javanese philosophy in a western way -- Javanese
philosophy is difficult to translate literally, so it must be
translated freely, adapting to the present situation."

Swamintaya maintained, however, that performing wayang in
English does not necessarily detract from the essence of the
original art form.

"The meaning is not lost, just different," he said. "The
Beatles' song Yesterday, sung by The Beatles, Frank Sinatra,
Shirley Bassy, Engelbert Humperdink and even Tom Jones, is still
the same song, it is just the way it is sung which changes."

The Mahabrata consists of 150 lakons (episodes), and usually
about nine hours in length. Swamintaya will be focusing on the
life of Bhisma as told throughout this epic but will condense the
performance to a few hours. He will also include the Hasta Brata
from the Ramayana.

"Hasta Brata has been used as guidance by kings for many
centuries. It is not found in Indian philosophy but was written
by a Javanese court poet in the 18th century."

Wayang has survived many obstacles, and now it must compete
with movies, television and other forms of modern entertainment,
possibly the greatest of any obstacles it has faced so far. So
what does the future hold for wayang?

"With the current economic problems, wayang will run slowly
but wayang has persisted for more than 15 centuries in this
country and it will last, as long as the dalang can present it in
an interesting way," Swamintaya said.

"I am optimistic. I am sure wayang will become better".